EUROPEAN THEATER OF WORLD WAR II
World War II was unique in that it was a multi-theater war, and saw fighting occur in: Africa, Europe and the Pacific. The European Theater and the Pacific Theater, in particular, saw some of the most intense fighting of World War II and involved some of the most significant events of the war, including: the Holocaust, the use of atomic weapons and end of famous dictators. The war in Europe saw the Allied powers of Britain, France, the Soviet Union, Canada and the United States face off against the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. Click on the highlighted terms to learn more about each topic.
German Invasion of Poland
|
Adolf Hitler
|
World War II began on September 1st, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The war in Europe began at this point and unfolded as a series of major events and battles. The first weeks of the war in Europe consisted mostly of Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, unleashing its blitzkrieg tactics against Poland. Germany used its "lighting war" strategy to quickly overwhelm and confuse enemy armies. While Britain and France condemned the German aggression against Poland, and declared war against Germany, little action was taken in the first 8 months of World War II. This period of inaction was referred to as the Phoney War and saw the armies of Britain and France preparing for a war with Germany, but without any actual fighting on the western half of Europe. For their part, Britain and France were mostly worried about reinforcing the Maginot Line, the defensive line built by France along the France-German border. It was believed that German troops would have to invade France across the border and go up against the Maginot Line.
|
The fighting began in May of 1940 when Germany surprised the Allied powers and instead attacked France and Belgium from the north through the Ardennes Forest. French leadership believed it would be impossible for the Germans to carry out such a maneuver, but German soldiers moved swiftly through the forested region. The German attack would be called the Battle of France and saw German forces quickly maneuver around the Maginot Line and overrun both Belgium and France. The German assault was so quick and successful, that the British Expeditionary Force, which was in Northern France was forced to retreat mainland Europe at Dunkirk, France in the famous Dunkirk Evacuation. Germany then maintained control over France with its soldiers and the help of its ally, Italy, who was led by Benito Mussolini.
|
Dunkirk Evacuation
|
Battle of Britain
|
Once France was defeated, Germany turned its attention towards defeating Britain. At the time, the Soviet Union was not a concern for Germany because the two countries had agreed earlier to a non-aggression pact. Therefore, Germany was able to unleash its full force against the island nation of Britain, who was being led by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill referred to the German attack against Britain as the Battle of Britain. The battle was known as a war of air superiority and involved the British air force facing off against the German air force in the skies over Britain. While Britain was able to withstand the German attack, German bombers inflicted large amounts of damage on British cities and towns. The British victory in the Battle of Britain was important for the Allied cause as Britain would be an important player in the later stages of the war.
|
|
Being unable to defeat Britain, Nazi Germany turned its attention towards the Soviet Union. Hitler's forces broke the terms of the non-aggression pact when Germany attacked the Soviet Union as part of its Operation Barbarossa. The German attack on the Soviet Union began in June of 1941 and saw Germany make massive territorial gains against the country, which was led by Joseph Stalin. German forces pushed quickly through the Soviet Union before they stalled at the edge of Moscow. Next, Hitler diverted his troops to the southern Soviet city of Stalingrad, where German blitzkrieg tactics failed to capture the city. The Battle of Stalingrad would be one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and a major turning point for the overall war. Germany lost its entire 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad and was never able to recover from the loss. In fact, Operation Barbarossa was the last time that Nazi Germany would be the aggressor in World War II in Europe and would spend the rest of the war being pushed back to Germany and its capital of Berlin.
|
Battle of Stalingrad
|
It was also during this time when the Japanese Empire, who was allied with Germany and Italy as part of the Axis powers, surprise attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. While not an event in the European Theater of World War II, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was significant because it led to the United States joining the fighting of World War II alongside the other Allied nations. American soldiers would come to play a vital role in Europe, as they helped lead the push to open up a second front in Europe and begin the process of defeating Nazi Germany and Italy.
In fact, America, led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, played a crucial role in the Allied invasion of Italy. In general, the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy was incredibly successful and achieved what it set out to. The Allied armies were able to force Axis naval, air and land divisions out of the area and allowed Allied merchant ships into the Mediterranean for the first time since 1941. As well, it led to the end of Benito Mussolini in Italy and forced Nazi Germany to divert troops from its battles against the Soviet Union as it had to grapple with a two front war. Next, the United States, along with other Allied nations carried out the Normandy Invasion in order to begin the process of liberating France.
Normandy Invasion
|
Normandy Invasion
|
The Normandy Invasion began on June 6th, 1944 and was codenamed Operation Overlord. Operation Overlord involved a large attack on northern France, including: amphibious landings, naval bombardment and an assault by airborne forces the night before. The United States, Britain and Canada were the three main participating countries in the amphibious landings of the Normandy Invasion. Each country landed on their own codenamed beaches with the goal of pushing back the Nazi defences and opening the beach for Allied heavy weapons. The United States’ beaches were Utah and Omaha, Britain’s beaches were Gold and Sword, and Canada’s beach was Juno. All three countries landed on the morning of June 6th, 1944 and faced difficult resistance from Nazi soldiers. However, the Allied attack had worked and the United States, Britain and Canada were all able to open their beaches to further Allied reinforcements and heavy weaponry. The battle is important because it opened the way for another front in Europe and began the process of liberating France and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.
|
As the Allies swept through France, Germany prepared its last offensive push in the region, known as the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge occurred from December 16th, 1944 to January 25th, 1944 and is one of the last major battles of World War II in Europe. The major participating countries of the battle included Britain, the United States and Germany. The Battle of the Bulge was a German offensive attack into the Ardennes Forest region of France and Belgium. Today, the Battle of the Bulge is remembered as a time of great heroism by American soldiers who had to withstand a powerful German attack in the cold and difficult terrain of the Ardennes Forest. In fact, many historians now look the Battle of the Bulge as a major loss to German and that it significantly lessened the ability of the Nazi’s to maintain control over parts of Europe.
|
Battle of the Bulge
|
Following the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies pushed into Germany from all sides. The British, Canadians and Americans assaulted the country from the south and west, while the Soviet Union invaded from the east. In fact, the Soviet Union army was able to advance into Berlin, the capital of Germany. Known as the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet invasion of the city, saw the end of Nazi Germany and ended World War II in Europe. The outcome of the battle saw the end of Nazi Germany and the leadership of Nazi Germany. For example, many significant Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler, committed suicide before the end of the battle. Hitler committed suicide by a gun shot on April 30th, 1945 in a bunker underneath Berlin. World War II in Europe and the Nazi regime were over.